My Antonia

My Antonia

by

Willa Cather

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My Antonia: Book 3, Chapter 1 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Jim attends university at Lincoln (the capital of Nebraska) and begins to study Latin under a young instructor named Gaston Cleric. He rents a room on the edge of town near the prairie and stays in Lincoln his first summer to take a course in Greek.
Though Jim moves away from Black Hawk, he still tries to maintain a connection to the prairie.
Themes
The Prairie Theme Icon
The Past Theme Icon
Jim calls this first year at university a time of "mental awakening." For a while, his past seems less important to him But he knows he will never be a scholar, because he has too much of a connection to the "naked land and the figures scattered upon it."
Though Jim is a talented academic, he finds it impossible to escape from the pull that both the prairie and his own past have on him.
Themes
The Prairie Theme Icon
The Past Theme Icon
Quotes